1. Field
The present invention relates to portable transaction cards such as credit cards, check guarantee cards, identification cards, etc, which are of generally conventional size and which have means for verification that the holder of the object is an authorized person who has the right to use them. In particular, the present invention relates to and provides such , i.e., credit cards, check guarantee cards and identification cards, which have a self-contained means for verification purposes, with no external reading apparatus or other peripheral apparatus being necessary for determining whether the holder of the card is indeed authorized to hold and use the card.
2. State of the Art
The use of credit cards, check guarantee cards and identification cards has become almost universal. Transactions using such cards are common daily occurrences in banking as well as other areas such as security and identification. Credit card fraud has reached mammoth proportions due, in large part, to the vulnerability of existing technologies for the avoidance of such fraud. The prior art technologies have generally not been successful for several reasons. The principal reason being that expensive, cumbersome readers and other peripheral equipment have been required in combination with various means employed on the cards for identifying that the card is valid and that the holder of the card is authorized to use the card. The cards, themselves, so called "smart cards", have been expensive to produce and many of the systems which have been proposed for the cards and readers have been unreliable. Because of the expense and the unreliability, these so called "smart cards" have not been used commercially.
Examples of the prior art technology are disclosed in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,831,119; 3,972,138; 4,100,689; 4,105,156; 4,408,119; 4,432,567; and 4,434,361. In all these disclosures, some type peripheral apparatus, such as a machine reader, must be used at the point of purchase or other transaction to verify that the holder of the card is authorized to use the card. The various attempts to develop a system for preventing fraudulent use of credit cards itself indicates that a simple, reliable and inexpensive system is indeed desirable. The development of a card or device which would be adapted to provide self-contained means for verifying whether the holder thereof is the owner or is otherwise properly authorized to use the card or device is highly desirable, and such a card or device is provided by the present invention.
3. Objectives
A general objective of the present invention is to provide an object in the form of a card, such as a credit card, check guarantee card or identification card which if lost or stolen cannot be used for fraudulent transactions.
A principal objective of the present invention is to provide a credit card, check guarantee card, or other type identification card which is relatively inexpensive to produce and which has self-contained means for verifying that the holder of the card is authorized to use the card, wherein proper verification can be established without the need of peripheral apparatus separate from the card itself.